Arthur b



A. B. UTLEY.

GRAPPLE.

APPLICATION FILED APR-5, 1919. 1,356,841, Patented Oct. 26, 1920.

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ARTHUR B. UTLEY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI.

GRAPPLE.

Specification of Letters Patent, if V t t d0 t'2 1920 Application filed April 5, 1919. Seria1 1\1'o. 287,663.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR B. UTLEY, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Springfield, in the county of Green and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improve.- ments in Grapples, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to grapples and has for its object the provision of novel means whereby fingers or clamping members may be operated to open and close, means being provided for mounting the said fingers so that they will operate when reciprocatory motion is communicated to them, novel means being also provided for communicating said motion to them.

A further object of this invention is to produce a grapple having means whereby the operating parts thereof may be kept free of fluid or fouling sediment.

The invention has-reference particularly to a tool or device adapted to clean traps of water closets, the saiddevice being also provided with an illuminating means which can be lowered with the grapple so that the effect of the operation may be observed.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification,

wherein like characters denotecorresponding parts in the several views, and in which--- 7 Figure 1 illustrates a sectional view of a flush pipe and trap of a closet conventionally shown; I Fig. 2 illustrates a sectional view of the grapple, a fragment of, the handle being shown in elevation;

Fig. 3 illustrates a view in elevation of the lower portion of the grapple, and

Fig. 4 illustrates a view in elevationof the end of the casing with the grapples in section.

In these drawings 5 denotes a hollow hane dle in which a rod or operating handle 7 reciprocates. A ferrule 8 extends below the lower end of the handle and is internally threadedas at 9 to engage threads of a tube 10. The tube is externally threaded as at 11 to engage the threads ofa coupling 12 screw 20.

and the said coupling 12 is connected to a housing 13 throughthe medium of a hollow boss 14, which is formed as apart of the housing. The outer end of the housing 13 hasapertures such as 15 in which shanks 16 i of the fingers or grapples 17 reciprocate, it being shown that the shanks 16 are at an angle to the grapples and as the said shanks move in the apertures 15, the outer ends of the grapples are forced together or separated according to the direction of movement of the saidshanks.

The inner ends of the shanks'are shown as'provided with hooks 18 which extend through apertures 19 in the lower end of the operating rod 7, the said rod being slidable in the apertured boss 14.

The operating handle or rod 7 is under the control or operation of a spring 26 which spring encircles the operating handle and bears against the end of the hollow boss and against a washer 21 which is on the said rod, thesaid washer being held against movement by a pin 22 extending through the said rod. It will thus be seen that the action of the spring is to force the operating handle or rod outwardly or upwardly, and that when the said rod is manipulated or forced inwardly from the upper end of the handle, the grapples or fingers will be worked to cause them to separate whereas the spring will return the rod 7 to normal position, causing the outer ends of the finelectric lamp 24, the conductor 25 of which may extend upwardly and be wound around the handle, so that the lamp will be moved into position when the operator is manipulating the grapple.

As shown in the drawing, the end of the casing comprises a plate 15 having ears 15 which extend into and lie in the recess 16 within the casing and the plate is held in place by fastenings 16 such as screws.

The operating rod may be held at difi'erent positions of adjustment by a set V I claim:

In a grapple, a hollow handle, an operating rod slidable therein, a tube detachably connected to the handle, a housing having an aperture 1n its lnner end commumcatlng With the tube, means for detachably connecting the housing and tube, a plate bear lng agalnst the outer end of the houslng said platehaving apertures therein, ears on r the plate fitting Within the housing,'means for fastening the ears to the housing, said operatingrod extendingthrough thetube" and being slidable in the housing, and grapples havlng hooks on their 1111161 ends swingingly mounted on to the rod said grapples having shanks angularly disposed with relation to the jaws whereby the shanks slide on the edges of the apertures of the plate 15 andoperate in said aperture.

I ARTHUR BQUT EY. 

